Aging Australian rock veterans Cold Chisel are to reissue their entire back catalogue, as well as distribute their music digitally for the first time. The massive project will see 56 brand new/rare recordings brought to light.

The Music Network reports that the reissued albums come out on July 22. As expected, all six of the band’s studio albums have been remastered, along with Swingshift , a live double-album from 1981. In addition, there is a host of material that delves deep into the Cold Chisel archives, such as early takes from the well-known Live At The Wireless sessions, demos and outtakes, B-sides, live performances and appearances on long-forgotten ABC television programs.

On top of that, each of the reissued studio albums comes with a special DVD reflecting the time the record was made. There will be over 40 video performances as part of this reissuing project, including their infamous appearance at the 1981 Countdown where they were a rather naughty gaggle. The whole reissuing process took two years to complete.

Singer Jimmy Barnes said, “Listening to all of this music and watching all of this footage from the past has been amazing… There are songs and performances we’d completely forgotten about; there were times we said, ‘did we really play that’? Some tracks here we only ever played once or twice and there are demos of songs that turned into something else. It’s been a real trip through our past and reminded us that we were OK for a rock and roll band.”

News.com.au quotes fan (and bootleg recording contributor) Michael Lawrence as describing Cold Chisel’s live appeal with, “Heaps of people believe they had seen the greatest Cold Chisel gig ever because they couldn’t believe they would play with that power and intensity every night.”

A substantial chunk of the live material being released comes from fans’ own bootlegging prowess.

It was previously reported that Barnes and his bandmates are in the process of putting together a new album for possible release later this year, their first since drummer Steven Prestwich died of a brain tumour in January of this year. New drummer Charley Drayton is currently filling Prestwich’s shoes.